I originally met Kristi Hines through being a staff member at Famous Bloggers. Her articles were great and she always loved to jump in and respond, something I respect from bloggers who run successful websites. It can be time consuming and sometimes difficult to fit in replying to comments, but worth the shot in the end.
Kristi loves to network and it shows. Her website, Kikolani, is extremely friendly and chock full of must read posts on blog marketing, social media strategy, and blogging tips . A little background on Kristi – She married and is from Arizona. She her hobbies are photography, writing, and poetry. Her own career is being an Internet Marketing specialist, so she really knows her stuff!
So, without further ado, here is my interview with Kristi Hines.
NILE: What inspired you to start blogging, or why did you start blogging?
KRISTI: Interestingly enough, I started Kikolani as a personal poetry site so I could share my writing with my soon to be husband at the time two years ago. After I was blogging for about six months, I found myself becoming more interested about covering the blogging process, and changed the theme of the site.
NILE: Kikolani talks about all aspects of blogging, including marketing. What are the most effective ways in your opinion that a blogger can market their website?
KRISTI: The most effective marketing for a blog is through social media (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and niche networks if applicable), making sure your content is optimized to be found by search engines, and blog commenting.
NILE: Have you ever had some difficulty in the beginning when trying to reach a target audience? If so, how did you overcome that issue?
KRISTI: I never had a lot of difficulty – but I also did a LOT of giving right from the start of my blogging career – commenting, sharing other people’s articles, sharing the link love, etc. with blogs that were in my niche. Those things really helped in bringing an engaged audience back to my site.
NILE: In your opinion, what is it that you believe a person must do in order to become influential amongst their niche?
KRISTI: Don’t look at blogging as a way to make money. Look at it as a way to help others. Don’t just think about what information you can sell – think about what information you can give to help your target audience. If you don’t have a post that can help someone who asks you a question, point them to a great post elsewhere.
NILE: What advice to you have for new bloggers who want to become successful and influential?
KRISTI: Monitor your niche on social media. See what people are asking about. Write about those things. Share what others in your niche are doing as well so your blog can become a fully rounded source of information.
Interesting — I didn't know Kristi started Kikolani.com as a poetry blog. I know that one of the first things that intrigued me about her was that we both wrote short poetry.
Great interview. Thanks for making this happen.
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Great interview Nile and great points from Kristie!
I especially agree with what Kristie says about "Share what others in your niche are doing as well so your blog can become a fully rounded source of information.".
It's important for a bloggers to realize that it's not a single-player game and that by including your niches' community you are actually not only helping others but yourself with being the source of great information; which will ultimately make you an authority in your industry.
Awesome job ladies!
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Another great interview in the series with one of my favourite bloggers, Kristi Hines. Its interesting to get an insight on what drives and motivates bloggers.
NILE – I like Kristi and enjoy her website a lot. An example of how giving and willing to share Kristi is, is on her blog post where she highlighted over 100 female bloggers that are on top of their game, and I know that had to take a good while to compile that list. You're doing a great job with these interviews Nile keep them coming.
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Kristi is the best at providing good original content and identifying good content from other people. If you have an interest in social media you could spend all you time following Kristi on Twitter and never run out of relevant stuff to read.
Nile, you really are putting together the best interviews for this series! I think everyone loves Kristi and her blog is one of the most valuable ones around. Notice how she said she did a lot of giving right from the start, that's just the way she is and the fact that she started blogging is just an added bonus for the rest of us to enjoy 🙂
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Great interview. I have the pleasure knowing Kristi through some ventures we have together and a "rocking star" she is. I admire her "drive" and the passion she has for getting things done. This is essence is what makes her stand out in this complicated and difficult world online. Thumbs up
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Nice to hear a bit more about Kristi. She is a very generous person who does notice newbies and encourages us with our blogging efforts. I was not even aware that she knew of my blog, but she still had me in her list of women she did the other weeks.
She quietly goes about her business and influences a lot of people by example, I do belive.
Great interview Nile. I really enjoyed it. Much appreciated.
Patricia Perth Australia
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Kristi Hines is freakin superwoman..according to me one of the best bloggers ever
Nice to hear a bit more about Kristi. She is a very generous person who does notice newbies and encourages us with our blogging efforts. I was not even aware that she knew of my blog, but she still had me in her list of women she did the other weeks. She quietly goes about her business and influences a lot of people by example, I do belive. Great interview Nile. I really enjoyed it. Much appreciated. Patricia Perth Australia My recent post At Lavenderuses Safety First Means…
Kristi is the best at providing good original content and identifying good content from other people. If you have an interest in social media you could spend all you time following Kristi on Twitter and never run out of relevant stuff to read.
thanks kristi for this blog, I think everyone loves Kristi and her blog is one of the most valuable ones around. Notice how she said she did a lot of giving right from the start
Thanks Kristy for sharing your experience with us because these interviews really inspires us a lot as a new blogger.
Awesome interview!
Great blog….This was really interesting…. Great article..Am shocked reading this…Thanks for sharing……
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Wow, that was a really cool article and interview. Thanks for posting this, just found it. Glad I stumbled upon it!